In the prior art many fatblends have been disclosed, that are suitable for fat-continuous emulsions, as can be found in shortenings, margarines and spreads. In order to be applicable in these applications the fats must fulfil a number of criteria, such as
they must have a critical plastic consistency, both at refrigeration and at ambient temperature PA1 they must be melting readily and completely in the mouth PA1 and nowadays also: they preferably should be healthy. PA1 84-95 wt % triglycerides PA1 5-15 wt % diglycerides PA1 &lt;3 wt % trans-acids PA1 &lt;6 wt % intermediate chain fatty acids PA1 25-45 wt % C.sub.18:2 PA1 0-11 wt % C.sub.18:3 PA1 5-25 wt % C.sub.18:1 PA1 N.sub.10 =7-31 PA1 N.sub.21 =3-25 PA1 N.sub.27 =0.7-10 PA1 N.sub.33 =0.5-4 PA1 N.sub.39 &lt;3 PA1 30-70 wt % of diglycerides, and PA1 70-30 wt % of triglycerides, PA1 25-70 wt % SU-diglycerides; PA1 10-70 wt % UU-diglycerides; PA1 (S=saturated fatty acid C.sub.12 -C.sub.24 ; U=unsaturated fatty acid with at least 16 C-atoms); PA1 while the triglycerides contain 1-70 wt % of S.sub.2 U-triglycerides; preferably 2-30 wt % S.sub.2 U. PA1 the content of saturated fatty acids for the whole blend being less than 50 wt %; preferably less than 40 wt %, most preferably less than 35 wt %. PA1 40-70 wt % SU PA1 10-60 wt % UU, preferably 10-40 wt % PA1 &lt;20 wt % SS, PA1 N.sub.5 &gt;30; N.sub.35 &lt;8. PA1 25-45 wt % SU PA1 40-70 wt % UU PA1 &lt;10 wt % SS PA1 N.sub.5 &lt;30 PA1 N.sub.35 &lt;5 PA1 1. hydrolysis of triglycerides, this hydrolyses can be performed along a chemical route (using a base) or along an enzymic route. PA1 2. esterification of glycerol. Again a chemical or an enzymic route can be applied. PA1 (1) a glycerolysis of a vegetable fat, rich in S.sub.2 U-triglycerides, preferably in the presence of an enzyme, most preferably a 1,3-specific enzyme; PA1 (2) removal of the monoglycerides formed from the crude reaction mixture of (1); PA1 (3) fractionation of the product of (2) for the removal of SS-diglycerides and SSS-triglycerides PA1 (4) adding liquid oil in such amounts that the fat blend with the composition according to claim 5 is obtained. PA1 (1) blending of a hardened vegetable oil and a liquid vegetable oil in a ratio of PA1 (2) subjecting the blend of (1) to glycerolysis, preferably with an enzyme, most preferably a 1,3-specific enzyme; PA1 (3) removal of the monoglycerides formed from the crude reaction mixture (2); PA1 (4) collecting the product of (3), having the composition according to claim 6, or; PA1 (5) blending the product of (3) with a liquid oil in such a ratio that a product with the composition according to claim 6 is obtained.
In order to meet the above requirements the fats must have a specific N-profile (solid fat index at different temperatures), while the fats also must have a specific fatty acid composition (i.e.: its FAME).
Solutions for the above problem were found for fats based substantially on triglycerides. In those fats a structuring compound of the trisaturated type (i.e.: S.sub.3, S=saturated fatty acid) must be present.
However, the presence of these triglycerides S.sub.3 is not very beneficial for its healthy character, because it will cause a relatively high level of saturated fatty acids in the fats, which saturated acids are believed to be responsible for heart- and vascular diseases. Therefore, a solution was sought in another direction. In WO 91/08677 a margarine oil is disclosed that is low in trans fatty acids and low in intermediate chain saturated fatty acids (including C.sub.16:0) and wherein as a structuring fat 5-15 wt % of fatty acid diglycerides are present. So, the above fats comprise:
while the fatty acid residues are non-random distributed, and the fatblend displays a solid fat profile of:
From the above composition it can be calculated that the fats have a theoretically minimum SAFA-content of 37 wt %. Moreover, the requirement for the non-random distribution causes, that the fats can only be obtained along an enzymic route using directing (1.3-specific) enzymes. The diglyceride-content is obtained by adjusting the water content during the enzymic conversion to levels that produce the required amount of 5-15 wt % of diglycerides. Therefore, the above document does not provide a solution for fats with SAFA-contents below 37 wt %, wherein the fatty acids do not need to be present in a non-randomized way and that can contain higher amounts of diglycerides.
From EP 417 562 fat continuous emulsions are known, having an oil phase and a waterphase in a weight ratio of 99:1 to 1:95. The oil phase comprises a diglyceride mixture, which is not specified. According to reference-example 2 the diglyceride mixture can be obtained by a conversion of glycerine with rapeseed oil in the presence of a base. The product obtained contained 19,4% triglyceride and 79,6 wt % diglyceride. This mixture was blended with refined rapeseed oil. Similar oil products could be obtained by starting from palmoil and lard. In order to be able to make fat-continuous emulsions from these mixtures a phospholipid--mixture, comprising N-free phospholipid and N-containing phospholipid had to be used in a weight-ratio of at least 1,0. Nothing is disclosed about the role of the diglycerides, nor about its composition.
EP 378 893 discloses oil/fat-compositions, comprising a diglyceride-containing glyceride mixture and a phospholipid with a specific composition. The fats are resistant against oxidation and can be used as cooking, deep-frying, pan-frying, roasting or baking fat. The oil can contain 5-100% of diglycerides. The fatty acid residues can have a chain length of 8-24 C-atoms, while the content of unsaturated fatty acid residues is up to 70 wt %. The content of SU-diglycerides is up to 40%, the content of SS-diglycerides is up to 5%; the rest being UU-diglycerides. In fact this document discloses two type of compositions, i.e. one type that combines (in the diglyceride-part) less than 40% SU with less than 5% SS and another type, that combines at least 40% SU with at least 5% SS. Nothing is disclosed about fats, having simultaneously at least 40% SU and maximum 5% SS in its diglyceride-part or about fats, having less than 40 wt % SU and simultaneously more than 5 wt % SS in its diglyceride part. Moreover nothing can be found about the use of above fats in tub- or wrapper margarines or halvarines. We found fat-compositions that are specifically adapted for use in tub, respectively in wrapper-margarines or halvarines. In order to be able to emulsify our fats, we found it was not necessary to apply the very specific phospholipid-compositions, prescribed by EP 378 893. Very good products can be obtained by using our fats and other emulsifiers, such as lecithin (ordinary) or monoglycerides (Hymono's).
In EP 425 958 oil-in-water-in oil emulsions are obtained having on total fat 10-100% of a diglyceride with a melting point below 20.degree. C.
In EP 171 112 edible fat compositions are disclosed that contain 5-30 wt % diglycerides. In the mixtures specific ratios between diglycerides and monoglycerides must be fulfilled, while the level of saturated fatty acids with 16-22 C-atoms in the diglycerides is kept below 45 wt %. According to the specification do the diglycerides have a profound influence on the crystallisation behaviour of fats and have a beneficial effect on the spreadability of hard fats. The diglycerides, therefore, are not used in order to achieve a structuring of the fats; for that purpose, quite a high amount of hardened fats are present in the fat blends (according to all examples). As a result of the above the SAFA-levels of the total fat blend is still quite high.